Page 66 of Legacy of Lies
Chapter 16
A whisper next to his ear woke him up.
“Garrison?”
Her voice, like sweet silk, slid over him, and he immediately hardened. Groaning, he pulled her deeper into the circle of his arms. As long as her soft body molded to his, maybe he wouldn’t have to confront the stark reality waiting for him outside the guest room door. Maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about everyone and everything. For the first time in far too long, he trusted his own feelings.
He would simply enjoy the beautiful woman in his arms.
“Garrison, wake up, please.”
“With your sexy butt pressed next to me, who can sleep?” He dropped a kiss onto her neck, and she shivered. Good.
In the moonlight filtering through the window, her olive skin took on a luminous glow. Trailing his fingers over her smooth arm, he had a flash of what life would be like with her in his arms, every night, with her cries of pleasure filling his bedroom. Coming home to her each evening.
To do what? Have wild sex and create a future together? With his entire life in chaos? Hell, he didn’t even know if they would have a home to live in next year, between buildings burning down, looming bankruptcy, and attempted takeovers of his land.
He had nothing to offer this woman. Or any woman. No financial security. No safety. Not even the promise of his undivided attention, if his duties on the ranch continued to expand.
Cold fear bit into his mind as he fought to hold on for dear life to his dream of a normal future. What the hell was he thinking?
He’d always be waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for Sara to betray him like Tiffani had done. Didn’t matter if it was fair to Sara or not. At least he was honest with himself. His stupid ability, which he could use to verify that people told the truth? In the end, it only resulted in him not trusting anyone. He was damned if he used it, and damned if he didn’t.
He would eventually get hurt. And that was a winning way to start a relationship. Complete lack of trust.
So. No dream for him. He needed to protect Zach and himself.
He rolled away from Sara and sat up.
“What do you need?” he said, trying to keep the snap of anger out of his voice.
She froze. Her wide eyes searched him.
Sweet Sara didn’t deserve his self-loathing and doubt. But she did deserve a guy with his shit together.
So, anyone but Garrison.
Clutching the quilt to her chest, she scooted up against the backboard.
“I need to leave.”
He sat straight up. Was that a tremor in her voice?
“Youneed to leave?” He cringed. Wrong thing to say.
She lifted her hand to trace his jaw, making him shudder.
Her sad voice raked his nerves raw. “Why? Were you thinking of going, too?” Even in the shadows, her smile didn’t make it to her eyes.
“No. Yes. Never mind.” He rubbed his neck, wishing it were her hands there, not his. “Why do you want to leave?” Damn it, he couldn’t stop himself from lashing out at her.
Sara Lopez was the last person who deserved to be the target of his anger. Hauling air into his lungs, he fought to calm down and wake the hell up before he said anything else stupid.
Time to tally up the score: He didn’t want long-term commitment or to risk being hurt, but he had the gall to get mad if his sleepover buddy didn’t want to stay until morning. Oh, and he wanted to use his sleepover buddy to check for strange behavior in his son, because Garrison couldn’t be objective. So he would use her and then get mad at her for getting too close to him.
He had become the definition of a hypocritical asshole.
“It’s four in the morning. I have to get ready for work.” She swallowed. “And it might not be ideal if your family saw me still here this morning. After ... you know.”
